


Solace

by mendacium_dulce (lux_veritatis)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Diary!Tom who has his own body, M/M, denial all over the place
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-12 23:21:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18456713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lux_veritatis/pseuds/mendacium_dulce
Summary: The reactions were purely physical, Tom told himself. The cold sweat, the shaking, his fists – fists clenched so tightly his nails were millimeters away from breaking his skin.





	Solace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kinkster_68](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinkster_68/gifts).



> This little drabble is a gift for kinkster_68, who is an awesome person and RPer alike <3 Erik’s request was a drabble about Diary!Tom being comforted by Harry, which is based on his HC of Diary!Tom struggling with claustrophobia and fear of abandonment.

The reactions were purely physical, Tom told himself. The cold sweat, the shaking, his fists – fists clenched so tightly his nails were millimeters away from breaking his skin. It wasn't _fear_ he felt, not _him_ , who had conquered death itself, who had long discarded all human weaknesses, the universal need for companionship included.

There should be nothing to keep him from tracking down the rest of his soul, from claiming his rightful place at the top of the Wizarding world, and he would gain access to knowledge locked away for centuries.

And yet, his heart was hammering in his chest, beating as frantically as Billy Stubb's rabbit's had before he had hung it from the orphanage rafters and broken its fragile neck – like the heart of a _prey_ animal rather than a proud predator.

'I'll be locked up again,' a treacherous voice at the back of his head whispered and against his will, he flinched. 'Who knows if it'll be another 50 years this time. Or longer.'

It was as though the walls themselves were closing in on him, as though there was no oxygen left for him to breathe, and his eyes darted around frantically even though he reminded himself that no, this was just a broom closet, not the diary he'd been trapped in for decades.

He was simply waiting for the danger of being discovered too early to pass, and his body was... malfunctioning (even though that, too, was a deficiency he couldn't – _wouldn't_ – let slide). If he gave himself a few more moments to adapt, then everything would return to normal.

Both, heart rate and breathing would return to a normal pace, his chest would no longer feel constricted, his mind no longer foggy from a sensation that definitely wasn't despair.

However, minutes passed and his state deteriorated instead of improving, the sound of his shallow breathing reverberating in the small space and his eyes clenched shut.

“ _Merlin's_ _beard_ , Tom! Are you okay?!” It was Harry's voice that pulled him out of his stupor and just a moment later, he was pulled against a warm chest and enveloped by a pair of wiry arms.

“Don't worry your head over it. I'm fine,” Tom said, glad that his voice was as steady as he willed it to be.

“Fine? That doesn't look fine to me. You're _shaking_!”

“Ah, that's because it's _cold_. Honestly, Harry, you must be a living oven to not even notice.“

“Yeah, probably,” Harry laughed, the sound surprisingly pleasant to Tom's ears as he hugged him tighter and soon, the shaking ebbed away and Tom felt a gentle calm wash over him as he listened to Harry's steady heartbeat that was gradually drowning out the clamor of his own.

Truly, the boy had proven himself to be more useful than expected.

 


End file.
